Effects of Bilateral Lateral Rectus Recession and Unilateral Recession-Resection in Large Angle Exotropia

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of bilateral lateral rectus recession and of unilateral rectus recession and resection in the patients who showed large angle exotropia. METHODS: Sixty-five patients who underwent either bilateral lateral rectus recession or unilateral recession-resection and who were followed up for more than 1 year between 1996 to 2001 at Chonnam University Hospital, were reviewed. The effect of bilateral lateral recession and unilateral recession-resection was compared according to preoperative angle of deviation. Successful outcome was defined as esotropia exotropia RESULTS: Forty-one patients underwent bilateral lateral rectus recession and 24 unilateral recession-resection. The patients in the former group averaged 8.5 years of age and 16.4 months of postoperative follow-up period, and those in the latter averaged 10.2 years and 16.9 months, respectively. The overall successful outcome of bilateral lateral rectus recession was 58.5% and that of unilateral recession-resection was 62.5%. The success rate in the group with preoperative deviations greater than 50 PD was significantly less than that in the group with deviation 50 PD or less (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

In large angle exotropia, there was no significant difference of two methods. Both bilateral lateral rectus recession and unilateral recession-resection were effectve method in large angle exotropia.